Actor Bahram Radan, whom the UK Guardian described as ‘the Iranian Brad Pitt,’ has come under heavy criticism after he hailed the US Supreme Court’s verdict to allow same-sex marriage across the country in a social media post.

He reportedly tweeted in Persian, ‘The US supreme court’s ruling that same-sex marriage is legal was historic, perhaps on the scale of the end of slavery… from Lincoln to Obama.’

The tweet, which the actor has since deleted, immediately created controversy in the country.

The 36-year-old found himself under pressure to delete the post and apologize after attracting criticism from social media users as well as hardline Islamic media, the Guardian reported.